Construction of an eight-inch water main to support the new Allen County Hospital on North Kentucky Street will start in about three weeks. A four-inch gas main also will be laid, with its installation to start a little later.
About 2,550 feet of the pipe will be buried four feet deep in the ditch along the west side of Kentucky between Miller and Oregon roads, said Corey Schinstock, assistant city administrator.
Service lines will be the responsibility of the hospital contractor, which the city will maintain once they’re activated.
The gas line will run from the city’s water tower along Miller Road, east to Kentucky and then north at a depth of three feet along the edge of the ditch containing the water main. The new gas main will cover 4,550 feet and will include construction of meter points at the edge of the new hospital.
“There will be some construction that will affect a little private property,” Schinstock said. “We’ll notify people ahead of time, or anyone in the area can call for information,” at 365-4900.
Cost of the water main is estimated at $35,000, for materials and labor, while the gas main extension is expected to cost $47,000. The city already has increased electric access along Oregon Road from single- to three-phase at a cost of $25,000. Three-phase provides more power than single.
“The transformer we’ll put up for the hospital will cost better than $20,000,” Schinstock said, making the city’s utility extension costs about $130,000.
The city also will provide $300,000 from sales tax revenue annually for 10 years to support the hospital.
The city’s utility extensions cost eventually will be recovered through sales, although
Schinstock said cost of the gas main extension would take much longer for the city to recoup than with water and electric.
But, he added, “it will be a great advantage for Iola and all of the area to have the new hospital.”
The fourth utility extension, to provide access to the city’s sewage treatment facilities, will be constructed as part of the hospital’s construction, from the north edge of the Fountain Villa property on the northwest corner of the Miller and Kentucky intersection.
“We hope to have everything we need to do out of the way before any dirt work starts,” Schinstock said. “We want to be ahead of the curve.”
